I awoke this morning and realized
That my two weeks of here and now are over

That here and now that allowed me to rise
Listening to the ocean and the buoy sounding

That here and now that had me wildly snapping pictures
Of whales and waterfalls, of craggy coast lines and wiggling lobsters

That here and now that had me cooking from the back of the Teardrop
Drinking my pungent coffee in the shade of the tent with my friend

That here and now that had me playing music for ancient Celts
And listening to sea shanties on a weathered church pew

That here and now that had me admiring brightly painted fishing boats and weathered faces
Of listening to accents in English that seemed lovely and even related to me

That here and now of slurping seafood chowder from the harbor's catch
Blended with carrots and potatoes freshly dug from local gardens

That here and now of talking to Meat Cove Fred saying--”it's a small world, ain't it?”
Whose sister we met the day before in Antinogish saying--”it's a small world, ain't it?”

That here and now of a campsite glorious and perfect in every way
Created and provided by a freshly made friend whom we must have known forever

That here and now of running my hand over rocks streaked with ribbons of white
Of cormorants and seals and water caves unreachable by land

That here and now of looking for the elusive moose
But seeing the familiar partridge running down the long remote gravel road we took

That here and now of ferry boats short and long in time and length
Of sharing in the story of one humanitarian (Mr. Bell) who has touched all of our lives

Even that here and now of long hours traveling the road back to reality
Through and around cities, towns and villages both charming and inviting us back

And now it's back to returning of phone calls, paying of bills, meeting of deadlines
Finding out what things are going on in the world that I should now worry about

But for 15 lovely days, I lived in the here and now
I shall remember and be grateful.

Carol Voigts is the Co-Editor for Retiree Travel at Wandering Educators

All photos courtesy and copyright Carol Voigts